Zimbabwe Birding Tour: African Pitta, Miombo Woodlands and Eastern Highlands

Zimbabwe Birding Tour: African Pitta, Miombo Woodlands and Eastern Highlands
November 2024/2025

Zimbabwe is an absolutely fabulous country – scenically wonderful, with very friendly people fluent in English and a long history in wilderness conservation. This has led to the establishment of a number of excellent and highly biodiverse reserves and national parks throughout the country. Zimbabwe has a good road network, and it also holds the distinction of being one of the few African countries in which you can see a great deal without the use of a 4×4 vehicle. With an improving political leadership and the introduction of US Dollars as tender throughout the country, Zimbabwe is once again becoming a very popular destination for birders and travelers alike.

This tour starts in the country’s capital city, Harare, before we soon transition to the famous Mana Pools National Park, a lush reserve at the bottom of the breathtaking Zambezi River Valley (here, the Middle/Lower Zambezi, one of Africa’s biggest rivers, is bounded by steep and immense escarpments on either side) and full of excellent birds. Some of our early highlights are likely to include the highly desired African Pitta (for which this tour is specifically timed), the localized Lilian’s Lovebird and a wide spectrum of mammals. Indeed, Mana Pools is a famous predator viewing area, with high concentrations of Lion, Leopard and the rare African Wild Dog, all serving as a precursor to the wonders that await.

African Wild Dog is a major target whilst at Mana Pools.

After a few days in magical Mana Pools, we make our way back south to Harare where we visit various miombo woodland birding areas around the city for the day – this is a unique south-central-African-restricted woodland that has a whole host of bird species restricted solely to this habitat and is of significant importance!

After a full day of Harare miombo birding, we transition to the spectacular Eastern Highlands for the next leg. The Eastern Highlands’ evergreen forests hold some highly localized endemics such as Chirinda Apalis and Roberts’s Warbler, as well as several birds that are more easily found here than in other countries, such as Swynnerton’s Robin. We also bird mountain grasslands for the Vulnerable (IUCN) Blue Swallow, this area being one of the last remaining strongholds for this scarce, rapidly declining species.

After four nights in Zimbabwe’s lush Eastern Highlands, we make our way back to Harare (birding our way back, of course) where the tour ends after a final night in the capital city. This exciting Zimbabwe birding tour gives you the opportunity to find the near-mythical African Pitta while also taking in some highly range-restricted specials, along with some truly spectacular megafauna highlights too.

This Zimbabwe birding tour incorporates four nights in an all-inclusive, private lodge in Mana Pools National Park, which is one of Africa’s great wildlife havens. Mana Pools has proven to be one of the most reliable locations for finding the most-wanted African Pitta, around which this tour is designed.

For those who would like to target several range-restricted and tricky-to-find Mozambique specials, you can join our Mozambique Birding Tour: Crab-plover and Lowland Forests which immediately follows this Zimbabwe bird watching tour. On this trip we spend time in the lowland forests of central Mozambique looking for White-chested Alethe, East Coast Akalat, Chestnut-fronted Helmetshrike and other desirable specials. We then move south to the coast where we search for Crab-plover, Saunders’s Tern and many other coastal birds.

The localized Boulder Chat is virtually endemic to Zimbabwe, and is a major birding target.

Itinerary (13 days/12 nights)

Day 1. Arrival in Harare

Our international flights arrive in Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, (usually by midday), and we transfer to our comfortable guest house within this city’s suburbs, where we spend the first night. The gardens sometimes host Variable Sunbirds, barbets and other dazzling species. If this is your first trip to Africa, prepare to be swamped with new birds, many of them brightly colored. In the afternoon, time permitting, we will try to track down the prized Boulder Chat just outside of Harare. Here, we will get our first taste of miombo birding, which is likely to produce Miombo Rock Thrush, Southern Hyliota, Red-faced Crombec and Eastern Miombo Sunbird. More widespread species also occur around here, and are likely to include Southern Yellow White-eye and Tropical Boubou.

Overnight: Harare

Days 2 – 5. Mana Pools National Park

Today, we will have a long transfer (roughly five hours of travel time) to reach our next destination of the trip – Mana Pools National Park, and thus we will be keen to get going early. While the trip to Mana Pools will likely be uneventful, stops en-route, such as around Lion’s Den, may provide us with species such as Black-chested Snake Eagle, Red-faced Cisticola, Copper Sunbird and the highly prized Racket-tailed Roller. Eventually, we will descend sharply into the verdant Zambezi Valley, and proceed onwards to our comfortable and well-appointed exclusive lodge, in time for our late afternoon birding.

At this time of the year, the area regularly has good numbers of displaying African Pittas and from our first afternoon, we will be on the lookout for these mythical and most-wanted intra-African migrants. Four nights and three full days in Mana Pools will give us excellent chances of finding pittas while also giving us ample time to enjoy the area’s rich birdlife, not to mention the impressive numbers of megafauna in the area.

Dickinson’s Kestrel is one of many raptor species we may see around Mana Pools.

Mana Pools is another of Africa’s great game parks, and it is one of the continent’s premier wildlife-viewing areas! Like their mammal counterparts, the birdlife within the area is nothing short of outstanding – with an incredibly diverse array of species, including some very special birds, all awaiting us! We will spend four nights in the area, and our time will be taken up with a mix of birding/wildlife drives as we navigate through the area. We will also undertake short walks through the wilderness – mostly in our pursuit of African Pitta. Our focus will be on the birds and mammals alike in this area, and we find that the two work in perfect harmony with each other. A wide range of habitat is covered, from mixed bushveld on rocky slopes covered in baobab trees, sections of tall, gallery mopane woodland, through to dense riverine thickets, dry riverbeds, and large areas of open riverine woodland, with scattered pans and wetlands dotted throughout the region. The mighty Zambezi River flows through the park and is the primary reason for the incredible diversity here.

Although the bird species occurring here are too many to mention, we will focus our efforts on the following ‘specials’. The range of mixed woodlands, bushveld and baobab-dominated areas host one of our core targets, Lilian’s Lovebird, along with the likes of both Mottled and Böhm’s Spinetails, Bennett’s Woodpecker, Dickinson’s Kestrel, Meyer’s Parrot, Retz’s Helmetshrike, Mosque Swallow and Orange-winged Pytilia. Many raptors nest within these areas, and we should keep our eyes open as African Harrier-Hawk, Hooded and White-backed Vulture, Brown Snake Eagle, Bateleur, Martial and Tawny Eagles, African Hawk-Eagle, Lizard Buzzard, Dark Chanting Goshawk and Shikra, are all likely. We will search areas of mopane woodland for the scarce Arnot’s Chat and if we’re lucky, Racket-tailed Roller.

The localized Lillian’s Lovebird will be looked for in the woodlands of Mana Pools.

The denser thickets, often lining some of the smaller streams and dry riverbeds, will be searched for many denizens, most importantly African Pitta, along with the likes of Crested Guineafowl, Narina Trogon, Eastern Nicator, the localized Livingstone’s Flycatcher, Purple-banded Sunbird and Red-throated Twinspot, amongst others.

A day trip from our lodge to visit the many wetlands and pans, along with the Zambezi River itself, should produce a wide array of waterbirds, and we’re sure to find a number of ducks, plovers, storks, herons and egrets here. Some of the more important species we’ll be targeting include Long-toed and White-crowned Lapwings, Greater Painted-snipe, Collared Pratincole, Saddle-billed Stork and Goliath Heron. Western Banded Snake Eagle can often be found in the trees surrounding these water bodies, and we may also stumble upon the highly prized Pel’s Fishing Owl if we’re very lucky. Nocturnal birding can also be rewarding here, and the bulk of our focus will be on finding the scarce Three-banded Courser. Other species such as African Barred Owlet, Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl and African Wood Owl are usually around, along with Fiery-necked Nightjar and even the spectacular Pennant-winged Nightjar.

The scarce Three-banded Courser can be reliably seen in Mana Pools.

Mana Pools is famous for its vast numbers of African Elephants and its predator sightings, in particular African Wild Dog, with several packs of this rare and highly prized predator occurring throughout the park. Additionally, Lion and Leopard are regularly seen. Some of the other mammals we are likely to see here include African Buffalo, Greater Kudu, Eland, Waterbuck, Plains Zebra and Hippopotamus. We also have a chance of seeing some of the more nocturnally active mammals found here such as African Civet, Side-striped Jackal, Spotted Hyena and Honey Badger.

Overnight: Mhara River Camp, Mana Pools

Day 6. Mana Pools to Harare

We have a full final morning available to explore the area, granting us the opportunity to search for any of the birds and mammals mentioned above (Days 2 – 5), that we may not have seen yet. Eventually, we will need to depart this incredible wildlife park, and make the trip back to Harare (roughly five hours). En-route we will likely stop off again in the Lion’s Den area where we can look for Marsh Owl, Croaking Cisticola, Bat Hawk and several other exciting species. We will then likely arrive in the late afternoon, and will settle in for our evening meal together, with the exciting prospect of a full day of miombo birding the following day!

Overnight: Harare

Day 7. Birding Harare

Harare is a birdy city, with the lush gardens and woodlands allowing birdlife to thrive. Additionally, the city and some of the surrounding areas on the Mashonaland Plateau host some of the finest tracts of the unique miombo woodland in the country. Dominated by Brachystegia trees, covered in lichen and moss, this woodland hosts several species virtually confined to these patches. We have a full day at our disposal to explore some of the birding sites in and around Harare, specifically targeting the miombo specials. Birding in the miombo can be tough going, with the birds often confined to ‘bird parties’ – where groups of birds gather, forage and feed together, slowly moving through the woodland. With enough time, we are bound to come across a few of these ‘bird parties’. Species such as White-crested Helmetshrike and Green-capped Eremomela are often the first birds to be found, before the trees come alive with other species. Some of our primary targets will be species such as Southern Hyliota, White-breasted Cuckooshrike, Green-backed Honeybird, Red-faced Crombec, Miombo Tit, Grey Penduline Tit, Stierling’s Wren-Warbler and Cabanis’s Bunting. Harare is a great place to see Whyte’s Barbet, and we will hopefully come across this prized barbet during our stay.

Miombo woodlands near Harare should produce sightings of Southern Hyliota.

Harare is also famous for the excellent tropical wetland birding it hosts – however, this is only during the rainy summer season (Jan – Mar), and the majority of the wetlands will be dry at this time of the year. Despite this, we may still find residents such as Marsh Owl, Senegal Coucal, African Yellow Warbler, a trio of longclaws, Cape, Yellow-throated and the prized Rosy-throated Longclaws, Orange-breasted Waxbill and Yellow-mantled Widowbird.

Overnight: Harare

Day 8. Transfer to Bvumba Mountains, woodland birding en route

Today, we plan to leave early and embark on a half-day drive to the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe near the border with Mozambique, and then upwards to the mid altitudes of the Bvumba Mountains. We have a fair distance to cover today, but en-route we’ll be sure to spend some time birding around Gosho Park, just east of Marondera, for any miombo birds we might have missed near Harare. Gosho Park is another fantastic site, and it allows us our best chances for some species such as African Spotted Creeper, Whyte’s Barbet, Miombo Rock Thrush, Miombo Tit, Wood Pipit, Western Violet-backed Sunbird and Black-eared Seedeater. Time-dependent, we may also bird some woodlands near Mutare for the uncommon and range-restricted Cinnamon-breasted Tit.

The prized African Spotted Creeper is a big target on this tour.

Eventually, we reach the lush Bvumba Highlands where we will stay at the rustic yet charming Seldomseen Cottages, set right within some of the best montane forest in the region. Here, almost all of the Eastern Highlands’ forest species occur right on our doorstep! We will spend two nights here, birding the lush grounds and their surrounds. We will likely spend the afternoon exploring the Seldomseen grounds and familiarizing ourselves with some of the specials occurring in the area. Common and vocal species we’re likely to see include some of the area’s prized birds, such as Chirinda Apalis, Roberts’s Warbler and Stripe-cheeked Greenbul, while other more widespread species such as Cape Batis, Olive Bushshrike, Cape Robin-Chat, African Dusky Flycatcher, Olive Thrush and Olive Sunbird abound in the grounds.

Overnight: Seldomseen Cottages, Bvumba Highlands

The attractive Swynnerton’s Robin occurs in the forest of the Bvumba Mountains.

Day 9. Continued birding in the Bvumba Highlands

We have the full day to explore this area to try and find all its many special birds. The Eastern Highlands also host some excellent miombo woodlands, and we will be sure to include some time in these during our stay. These woodlands are the primary range for the scarce Cinnamon-breasted Tit, and this species will likely be our main target. Of course, these woodlands support the full array of miombo specials, and if we missed any species such as African Spotted Creeper, Cabanis’s Bunting, Whyte’s Barbet, Red-faced Crombec, Miombo Rock Thrush and Miombo Tit, we will be able to try again for these species. We may also be lucky and find one of the ‘regular’ Collared Flycatchers here (this is a rare migrant to southern Africa), while the grassy slopes are good for the scarce Tree Pipit.

We will need to put more time into the forested areas, as they host the bulk of the specials, and the very localized Swynnerton’s Robin will be one of our main targets. Noisy Livingstone’s Turacos bound in the treetops, while secretive Eastern Bronze-naped Pigeons call from high up within deep cover, with dainty White-tailed Crested Flycatchers never far away. The understory, however, is often of more importance, supporting the likes of Orange Ground Thrush, Barratt’s Warbler, White-starred Robin, Green Twinspot and the ultra-secretive Buff-spotted Flufftail, this being one of the best areas to see the latter! Black-fronted Bushshrikes keep to the thicker tangles, while species such as Yellow-rumped Tinkerbirds aren’t shy to show themselves, with Lemon and Tambourine Doves exploding from the forest floor. The open areas play host to species such as Cape Grassbird, African Yellow Warbler, Singing Cisticola and the cute Yellow-bellied Waxbill, while some of the protea-clad hills and flowering trees support a wealth of nectar-loving species, such as Bronzy Sunbird and if we’re lucky, Gurney’s Sugarbird. Raptors abound in this area, and we’ll be sure to keep our eyes out for Crowned and Long-crested Eagles, along with Augur Buzzard, while the smaller African Goshawk and Black Sparrowhawk are never far away from forested areas.

Overnight: Seldomseen Cottages, Bvumba Highlands

Day 10. Transfer to Aberfoyle Lodge, woodland birding en route

We will have one final morning to perhaps target any missing forest specials before we make our way north to the Honde Valley and Aberfoyle Lodge. One of our stops en route will see us calling into the incredible Nyanga Mountains where we will focus our attention on the scarce Blue Swallow – here at one of the last strongholds for this species. After making our way down along the winding Honde Valley road, we will eventually reach the comfortable Aberfoyle Lodge, where we will be based for two nights.

Overnight: Aberfoyle Lodge, Honde Valley

The Vulnerable and declining Blue Swallow is still relatively common at Inyanga.

Day 11. Birding Aberfoyle Lodge and the Honde Valley

After our late afternoon arrival the previous day, this will be our first chance for birding this incredible area. We will spend the day visiting sites around the Honde Valley, such as the famous ‘Wamba Marsh’, Katiyo Tea Estate and the expansive grounds of the lodge itself. The Honde Valley is a scenic area with huge tea estates punctuated by villages, subsistence farmland and small patches of attractive riverine forest. The Mutarazi Falls can be seen in the distance as they plummet an impressive 2,500 feet (~760 meters) from the Nyanga Highlands which tower above this fertile valley. Feeders around the lodge attract some strikingly beautiful birds such as Red-throated Twinspot and Red-faced Crimsonwing, and nearby riverine forests are home to the scarce Pallid Honeyguide, Silvery-cheeked Hornbill, White-eared Barbet, African Broadbill, Common Square-tailed Drongo, and as always, many others. The rivers running through the area host Half-collared Kingfisher and Mountain Wagtail. Ayres’s Hawk-Eagle is often seen in the area, as is Palm-nut Vulture. Keeping an eye skywards might produce sightings of Scarce and Mottled Swifts, both of which have colonies in the area, and are a regular sight overhead. Lesser Seedcracker is the most sought-after bird here in the Honde Valley, and while we’ll allocate a good amount of time looking for it, this remains one of the toughest trip birds, and it’s certainly easy to miss.

Some of the outlying areas away from the lodge host other exciting species such as Blue-spotted Wood Dove, Green-backed Woodpecker, Moustached Grass Warbler, Fan-tailed Grassbird (Broad-tailed Warbler), Marsh Tchagra, Singing Cisticola, Grey Waxbill, Magpie Mannikin and Black-winged Red Bishop, amongst others. This is a very birdy area, and we are sure to see a high number of species as we traverse the valley.

Overnight: Aberfoyle Lodge, Honde Valley

We should see the attractive Red-throated Twinspot (here, a female on the left, and male on the right) on this tour.

Day 12. Transfer from Honde Valley to Harare

We will have a final morning’s birding in the Honde Valley, perhaps having another search for the rare Lesser Seedcracker, before moving back westwards towards Harare. Today is mostly a transfer day; however, we can also use it as a backup day to look for any missing targets, perhaps spending more time in the miombo woodlands looking for specials such as Green-backed Honeybird or African Spotted Creeper. We will likely arrive in Harare in the late afternoon and enjoy one final group dinner this evening.

Overnight: Harare

The beautiful and rare Lesser Seedcracker.

Days 13. Departure from Harare

The tour comes to an end after breakfast – where you can depart at your leisure. Please note that there are no activities scheduled for the day, however, should you have a late afternoon/evening departure from Harare, we will be able to assist in organizing activities for you.

Please note that the itinerary cannot be guaranteed as it is only a rough guide and can be changed (usually slightly) due to factors such as availability of accommodation, updated information on the state of accommodation, roads, or birding sites, the discretion of the guides and other factors. In addition, we sometimes have to use a different international guide from the one advertised due to tour scheduling.

Zimbabwe Private Birding Tour: African Pitta, Harare Miombo and Mana Pools Tour Report, November 2023

23 NOVEMBER – 02 DECEMBER 2023

By Dylan Vasapolli

African Pitta – the main target of the tour – showed well in Mana Pools.

Overview

This private tour was specifically designed around seeing the mythical African Pitta, for a couple (Sue and John). While the pitta was the main target, there were several other possibilities that were factored in, like Bronze-winged Courser, Lilian’s Lovebird and African Wild Dog, amongst others. As such, we quickly settled on a custom tour to Zimbabwe, where we would focus our time on the amazing Mana Pools National Park. Mana Pools is located in the Zambezi River valley of far northern Zimbabwe, this big game park is one of Africa’s premier wildlife destinations, and we would base ourselves here for six nights, to give ourselves the best possible chance of success. A few extra days were also added on around Harare, to try for some of the miombo woodland targets that were possible, notably Boulder Chat and Whyte’s Barbet.

Lilian’s Lovebird is a Zambezi River valley special with a limited range. They were delightfully common in Mana Pools.

This tour took place right at the onset of the pitta’s breeding season, in late November – coinciding with the start of the rains. December is also the prime birding time in southern Africa, with many birds breeding and, as such, vocal and generally at their easiest to find. The tour went ahead smoothly, with no complications or adverse weather conditions. Mana Pools especially is stocked full of big game, and while the resident packs of African Wild Dogs eluded us, we enjoyed a great many other mammals, including Lions and African Savanna Elephants.

A detailed daily account can be read below, and the full bird and mammal lists are located at the end of the report.

Detailed Report

Day 1, 23^rd November 2023. Arrival into Harare, and local birding

The guests, Sue and John, arrived in Harare without hassle. After checking in to our comfortable guesthouse and freshening up, we headed out for a quick late afternoon birding session at the nearby Monavale Wetlands. This wetland is a famous Harare birding site for hosting secretive rails and crakes in the rainy season. It is typically very dry at this time of the year but nonetheless supports some of our target species. On arriving, we quickly picked up vast numbers of euplectes moving about and found high numbers of both Red-collared and White-winged Widowbirds, along with smaller numbers of Southern Red and Yellow Bishops and the sought-after Yellow-mantled Widowbird. A large flock of the scarce Cuckoo-finches also pitched up, giving us good views. African Yellow Warbler was our main target, and we heard several birds from the appropriate area, but it took much search and effort to locate one bird, which eventually gave us some brief views. We also got our eye in on some typical African species, like Little Bee-eater and Black-winged Kite, before calling it a day.

Boulder Chat showed well in the rocky miombo woodland near Harare.

Day 2, 24^th November 2023. Harare miombo birding

We began our morning with an early breakfast, before heading out to the lovely Christonbank hills. The large granite domes blanketed in stunning miombo woodland not only make for a picturesque scene, but also provide easy access to one of the more sought-after Zimbabwe specials – Boulder Chat. It is virtually endemic to the country (though not, as it just spills over Zimbabwe’s borders into its neighboring countries), so it would form our main target for the morning. Soon after arriving, we picked up on the distinct call. We enjoyed superb and extended views of this strange bird as a pair sat calling on the boulders and also moved up into the surrounding trees. We soaked up our views for some time before moving on and trying our luck for our other target, Whyte’s Barbet, in the surrounding miombo. The birding was slow for a while, as is typical of this habitat, but we eventually found some activity that held the likes of Black-headed and African Golden Orioles, Eastern Miombo and Scarlet-chested Sunbirds, Ashy Flycatcher and Black-backed Puffback, amongst others, before two Whyte’s Barbets came barreling in towards us. They alighted and sat for a short while, before disappearing again. We moved on through to the area we suspected they went to and soon found them feeding in a tree. We enjoyed our second round of views before they flew again, moving out of sight. Thrilled with our success, we treated ourselves to some tea and biscuits, before returning back to our guesthouse in the late morning.

After a bit of rest, we headed out for the afternoon to the wonderful Haka Park. We began with a walk through the miombo section of the reserve, and we quickly found a bird party thanks to some vocal Southern Hyliotas. We rapidly followed the birds, picking up other specials like White-breasted Cuckooshrike, White-crested Helmetshrikes, Green-capped Eremomelas, Red-headed Weavers and African Golden Orioles, before the birds melted back away into the trees. We then progressed to the reserve’s more open areas and scoured the edges of a marsh, successfully, for a fine Pale-crowned Cisticola, though the hoped-for Rosy-throated Longclaw and Marsh Owls were conspicuous only by their absence. Abdim’s Stork and Croaking Cisticola were also present. The upper reaches of the dam held a small group of White-backed Ducks, along with others like African Swamphen, Black Crake and African Jacana. A vocal African Fish Eagle was also present. Other widespread species were seen here as well, before we called it a day and settled in for a lovely dinner.

Southern Hyliota is a key miombo woodland species.

Day 3, 25^th November 2023. Transfer to Mana Pools

We had a long drive to get up to Mana Pools National Park – one of Africa’s great game parks. The drive took us the bulk of the morning, with stops along the way delivering a pair of Racket-tailed Rollers – performing their aerial acrobatic display. We also enjoyed other birds like Lizard Buzzard, Little Sparrowhawk and African Harrier Hawk. After completing the formalities, we made the trek deep into the park to our well-appointed (and superb) lodge, and met up with our excellent ranger guide, Jim, who would be with us for our Mana Pools stay.

The main purpose of this trip was to search for the mythical African Pitta. Any chances of seeing this bird were virtually restricted to a small window at the start of their breeding season, when the birds give their strange display calls in their thick forest habitats – allowing birders chances of tracking down this otherwise secretive ghost. We had timed our trip to coincide carefully with this period and had given ourselves five full days to maximize our chances.

After settling in, we began our first afternoon with a walk through some of the prime ‘Pitta thickets’ to get a lay of the land. The air was still, with barely a bird calling, or even moving for that matter. A large party of Southern Crested Guineafowls came moving through the undergrowth, and we eked out others like Tropical Boubou and Crowned Hornbill, but little else. Soon, we were off to our first sundowner spot and arrived with the resident pride of Lions lazing about. As it started to darken, with ice-cold gin and tonics in hand, numbers of Double-banded Sandgrouse began arriving at the nearby pan to drink. We watched the spectacle for a while, and, with darkness truly around, did a short night drive back to the lodge. Almost immediately, we found another of our major targets, Bronze-winged Courser. The bird didn’t hang around for very long, and we enjoyed our first celebratory dinner this evening.

Racket-tailed Roller is an uncommon specialty of southern Africa. Missing from many world birders’ lists, this was a tour target, and fortunately, showed well on a few occasions.

Days 4 – 8, 26^th – 30^th November 2023. African Pittas at Mana Pools

Our five full days in Mana Pools are discussed as one below, as the similarity of the days all began blurring together.

Our time early on was entirely devoted to searching for African Pitta, and our first morning yielded several calling birds that we were able to get close to, but failed to get any views of, frustratingly. These birds frequent dense thickets that are virtually impregnable and need careful skill to navigate around and through them. Not to mention the fact that this is also prime big game territory, and the possibility of bumping into African Savanna Elephants, Cape Buffalos and others like Lion is very real and necessitates the use of a qualified professional ranger guide to accompany us. Hearing these birds is usually the easy part, as their loud display calls can be heard from some distance. However, it then becomes a game of cat and mouse, as you have to carefully stalk the bird and try to get into a position so you can see it doing its display jump from its favored perch, usually in a tree. After failing on the first morning, we opted to search another prospective area that afternoon, and we struck gold, finding a very obliging African Pitta that put on an excellent show for us! We soaked up our incredible views as this bird displayed from its surprisingly open perch for a while; we then watched as the bird went about its business, hopping and feeding through the leaf litter on the forest floor. After having our initial success, we enjoyed several more views over the days, mostly of these birds being secretive, and feeding on the floor (including a pair clearly getting ready for nest building). In the latter days, the display calls of African Pitta in front of the camp became our alarm clock, and it was an immense privilege to be privy to it. It is safe to say that we thoroughly enjoyed our time with these birds!

An “in-situ” photo of one of the African Pittas we found, showing its camouflage on the ground and the dense thickets they frequent.

With the pressure having come off after our superb views of African Pitta early on, we could also enjoy other parts of the reserve, and additionally explore the incredible Zambezi River floodplain. The pitta thickets held other exciting birds and gave us good views of birds like African Broadbill, Retz’s Helmetshrike, Livingstone’s Flycatcher, Eastern Nicator, Bearded Scrub Robin and Red-throated Twinspot, amongst others. Exploring the mosaic of mixed woodland, baobab-dominated hills, and mopane woodlands further away gave us further specials like flocks of roving Lilian’s Lovebirds, Meyer’s Parrot, Southern Ground Hornbill, Mottled and Böhm’s Spinetails, Racket-tailed and Broad-billed Rollers, Greater Honeyguide, Arnot’s Chat and Meves’s Starling. We also found a pair of Boulder Chats, somewhat surprisingly – beyond their known range. Several enormous colonies of Southern Carmine Bee-eaters were nesting in the area, and we spent some time enjoying the antics of the now fairly large chicks around their nesting burrows.

African Broadbill is another prized species occurring in the same thickets as the pitta.

Raptors were well represented, and we managed to pick up charismatic birds like Bateleur and Brown Snake Eagle, to scarcer birds like Hooded Vulture, Lesser Spotted Eagle, African Hawk-Eagle and Amur Falcon. Our nighttime explorations gave us a few excellent looks at the incredible Pennant-winged Nightjars, with males resplendent in their long wing plumes dancing about, along with other birds like Southern White-faced Owl and the scarce Three-banded Courser. The Zambezi River region added many further birds, and while much of the floodplain was bone dry, the mighty Zambezi River proved to be a source of life to the surrounds. Water birds were well represented, from Knob-billed Ducks and Spur-winged Geese to the likes of Saddle-billed, Marabou, Yellow-billed and African Woolly-necked Storks, African Openbills to African Spoonbills, Black and Squacco Herons to Great and Yellow-billed Egrets. We were also able to pick up a few African Skimmers on some distant sandbars while strange-looking White-crowned Lapwings were found much closer to the shore. The riverine woods held new birds like Collared Palm Thrush and Western Banded Snake Eagle, while it was good to see the Bat Hawks had not changed their preferred tree in many years. It is difficult to mention every species, but in our five days, we notched up over 200 species in the park, with a wide range of typical African species, like bee-eaters, woodpeckers, bushshrikes, flycatchers, sunbirds, weavers and waxbills all represented.

Three-banded Courser showed well during our nighttime excursions in Mana Pools.

African Wild Dog was another target on the trip, and try as we might, we were unable to locate any of the resident packs of these animals during our time here. The resident pride of Lions was a regular feature and seen on most days, including giving us a fabulous send-off by walking down the dry riverbed right in front of the lodge. African Savanna Elephants were commonly seen, as were Cape Buffalo, along with a wide range of plains game, including Klipspringer, Waterbuck, Common Eland, Greater Kudu and Southern Bushbuck. A lone Spotted Hyena was also seen.

Day 9, 1^st December 2023. Transit back to Harare

We enjoyed our final morning with a leisurely breakfast, before saying our goodbyes and departing the wonderful Mana Pools, and our comfortable lodge, which had been home for the past six nights. Most of the rest of the day was spent transiting back to Harare, though we did stop off for some birding on a private farm. Here, we successfully tracked down Marsh Owls (which roosted in the nearby marshes en-masse) and picked up other birds like Senegal Coucal, Garden Warbler and Yellow-throated Longclaw. A nesting pair of Bat Hawks was an equally good surprise. We arrived back in Harare in the afternoon and settled in for the evening. Our final celebratory dinner was spent reveling in the success of the trip, with African Pitta (amongst many others) firmly under our belt.

Day 10, 2^nd December 2023. Departure     

The morning was spent at leisure, before the group departed from Harare in the late morning.

A sunset vista over Mana Pools (and the pitta thickets) as seen from our comfortable lodge.

Sue and John overlooking the huge Zambezi River.

Bird List – Following IOC 13.2

Birds ‘heard only’ are marked with (H) after the common name, all other species were seen.

The following notation after species names is used to show conservation status following the IUCN Red List:
CR = Critically Endangered, EN = Endangered, VU = Vulnerable.

Mammal List

The following notation after species names is used to show conservation status following the IUCN Red List:
EN = Endangered, VU = Vulnerable.

This is a sample trip report. Please email us ([email protected]) for more trip reports from this destination.